Barely Dead
by shikamarubase
Summary: Temari says goodbye to a precious friend and comrade [My submission for Day 3 of ShikaTema Week 2019-Rematch]


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

"_N-no…_"

Temari felt a chill ran down her spine. Her body tensed up in alert, yet her senses were failing her. Her vision dimmed and narrowed, her mouth felt dry, all noise was extinguished the moment she laid eyes on the man approaching her. Yet, he shouldn't have been there at all. He was supposed to be on the other side of the battlefield, fighting enemies unknown to her.

A nightmare.

That was one of the two logical explanations. She forced herself not to think of the second and more realistic possibility. He couldn't be gone; for all his talk about how troublesome living was, he would've never allowed himself to die during this dire period.

But the closer he got, the harder it was for her to deny the truth. When he stopped within a few meters from her, Temari shut her eyes in despair. Within a cloud of smoke stood the reanimated body of Nara Shikamaru.

He smiled apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, Tem. I went and got myself killed."

"Is this a joke to you?" She snapped. With shaking hands, she drew her large fan and pointed it to his chest. "You know what I have to do right? I'll have to kick your butt and…seal you away." She nearly choked at her last words.

He shrugged, a hint of remorse etched into his face. "You do that, but I can't promise I won't fight back." He flashed her a grudging smirk. "Not when my body's being controlled by someone else."

And, without warning, the noise was back.

"Isn't that Nara Shikamaru, Proxy Commander of the 4th Division?" the other Wind Style users surrounding her bellowed in disbelief. "Shit, they got another one of us! What do we do, Temari-san?"

Temari raised her folded fan and striked it down the rocky field. "Stand back. You don't need to do anything but wait." Eyes not leaving his, she added, "Leave this to me."

With a single flick of her wrist, she brandished her giant iron fan to reveal all three stars.

"_Wind Style—Kamaitachi!_"

A powerful gust of wind sliced through the air and made its way to Shikamaru. For a second he merely watched as the attack spiraled towards him, perhaps his mind alone attempted to rebel against the control, but the next second his shadows snaked around his torso and threw him in the opposite direction of the attack. Shikamaru landed back on the ground with an elegant thump, completely unscathed.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tsk, guess he won't make this easy for us after all."

He found her a few meters away and already poised to attack. "Temari! Get ready!" His hands came together to form familiar hand seals, ones she knew too well.

"_Shadow Paralysis Jutsu!_"

A single shadow snaked across the ground towards her. However, before it could remotely get close, Temari rode her fan and glided out of range.

"Is that the best you can do?" She taunted over his head. "A 12-year old has better moves than that."

Shikamaru didn't get to ask whether she was making a small reference to their own Chunin Exams, because he was already forming another set of hand seals for his next attack.

"Look out! _Shadow Sewing Technique!_"

Several shadows sprung from the ground and chased after Temari, who gracefully avoided the assault with ease.

Once sure she was out of his range, Temari jumped down and aimed a stronger whirlwind in Shikamaru's direction, one he could not easily dodge.

The force of the attack sent him twirling roughly in the air, before he plummeted to the surface. In spite of herself, Temari worriedly ran over and found him eagle-spread on the ground, a little beat up but still in one piece.

To her amazement, Shikamaru was waiting for her with a stupid grin on his face. "This whole fight is a drag, but I can't help but feel nostalgic."

"This really isn't the time to reminisce." She looked at him in exasperation, but her mind easily darted back to the past, to the time where her biggest worry was how to appease Gaara's murderous tendencies and win against a gangly kid who was smarter than he looked.

"I kicked your ass like this in our Chunin match too." She smirked at the memory of young Shikamaru, who was always quick to run away.

"Don't be cocky now. Remember how I turned the tables on you?" That quickly wiped the grin off Temari's face.

"Sh-shut up! I was caught offguard, that's all." She flushed at the unwanted reminder. Temari never quite got over losing to a kid three years younger than her, even if she was the official winner of the match.

Shikamaru laughed and wistfully stared at her, knowing this carefree moment was his last. "This kinda feels like a rematch, huh?"

She thought for a moment. "It's not the rematch I imagined, but yea—"

"Tem." The urgent tone in his voice stopped her. "I don't have long left. He'll take complete control over me soon."

She was sure the pained expression on his face mirrored her own as reality unceremoniously came crashing down. She couldn't believe that, for a moment, she thought this small banter between them was fun. Did she think Shikamaru was going to magically break out of the jutsu and come back to life? She wasn't there to savor their last moments together, but to seal him away and make sure he rests in peace.

"Don't cry," he whispered when her eyes filled with tears. For reasons unknown other than the need to feel her skin on his, he grabbed her hand. "What a drag, that's not like you."

The heat of her skin clashed with his icy grip, cold and unmistakably dead. "Shut up," she shot back fiercely. "I'm not crying because of you. I'm angry at whoever killed you and made you like this!"

Shikamaru smiled. He'll miss messing around with her like this. As troublesome as she may be sometimes, Temari was an undeniably precious friend and comrade. The only thing he'll regret when he leaves her is never figuring out just how important she really is to him.

"Temari." He squeezed her hand tightly as the control on his mind waned. "Sorry I won't be able to stay for this rematch until the end. When I'm gone, give this body hell for me, okay?"

Not trusting herself to speak, Temari jerked her head.

With every bit of strength he had left, he said, "I'm glad my last memory was with…you….."

As quick as it came, Shikamaru's last smile vanished. She'll never be able to forget the moment light left his eyes nor how his face molded into a mask void of expression. There was no trace of the man or even the crybaby she knew, he was now merely a puppet.

Her eyes lowered to their intertwined hands, heart dropping when his grip became lax, until only her own kept them interlocked. For a moment, she could not bear to let go. When the cold seeped into her skin until her fingers trembled, she grasped his hand even more firmly. When she felt his lifeless body stir, she hoped to find him smirking down at her, ready to explain how he had broken through the reanimation jutsu. No matter how slim the possibility, Temari would use any excuse to keep holding on to his hand.

But reality was not so nice as to give her what she wanted.

She stifled a gasp when his hallowed eyes bore into hers. That was the moment she realized the Shikamaru she knew was never coming back. She needed to put an end to this, for both their sakes. With one final squeeze, she released his hand and prepared to fight.

Temari leapt into the air and striked her giant iron fan across his back. Shikamaru's body crumbled down but he was soon back on his feet, his hands poised to form more hand seals. Giving him no time to counterattack, Temari smashed her fan against him repeatedly—three strikes to his abdomen, one to the back of his head and two to his lower back.

Thrashing the shell of who Shikamari was felt like knives to her heart. Tears easily welled up behind her eyes, until the only thing she could make out were the blurred lines of his figure. Even then, Temari did not cease attacking. The sooner he fell, the less pain she'll have to endure. By the time she was finished with him, he collapsed in a heap of limbs and no longer moved.

"Sealing Team, now!" Still heaving from the effort, she barked at the small group who immediately approached the two and covered Shikamaru's body with cloth.

Before the seal was applied to the bindings, Temari stretched a hand to his pale face, the one part of his body she intentionally did not harm, and softly caressed his cold cheek. A single tear escaped as she looked straight into his lifeless brown eyes.

"Goodbye, Shikamaru."

Once again, she had won the match but lost the battle.

**The End.**


End file.
